January 5, 2023
River Partners is honored to be featured on the front page of the New York Times alongside our many partners and allies.
A few highlights:
“As global warming brings more intense rainfall, experts say the state needs to give rivers more room to flood safely. But the obstacles are enormous.”
“Moving levees farther away from waterways allows more rainwater and snowmelt to seep into underground aquifers, where it is essentially kept in reserve to help during periods of drought, and also protects people and property from floods. But doing so often requires government agencies to buy riverside land, something difficult to do in a state where land values are high and public finances are tight.”
“Local officials in California can be reluctant to take farmland near rivers out of production, said Julie Rentner, president of River Partners, an environmental group that works on floodplain restoration projects in the state.”
“River Partners played a key role in creating the Dos Rios Ranch Preserve, a 2,100-acre floodway expansion near the confluence of the San Joaquin and Tuolumne rivers. The area was once a dairy and cattle operation but is now a verdant habitat for birds and fish. If the rivers overtop their banks, water can inundate the plot safely, reducing flood risk downriver.”
